Logan S

I'm sure there's hundreds of little things that go on in his head...But the thing that jumped out to me was how much he keyed on color. When he was switching out frog colors he was really concerned that he didn't have the 'right' color. Same thing with the Caffeine Shad, he was really concerned with it...And once he settled on his color for that he got bit almost immediately. He was also really in tune with the tides and how the wind and weather would effect it. Being a tidal guy myself this wasn't too much of a surprise, but just like his overall knowledge of the river it was pretty awesome to see how much of an expert he was at it despite not being a 'local'. Little things like looking up the offshore winds for the main Chesapeake and Atlantic to determine if the south winds would have a big or small effect on the tide height and timing.

His casting and accuracy were excellent as you would expect....However most of the fishing he did was in open water so it wasn't really on display as much. Every time a bass or baitfish would bust on the surface he would be able to land exactly on top of it. When he flipped the docks his technique was impressive. Just a little loop-style flip with his left hand and it was under the dock and skipping every single time. All of his gear and tackle was dialed in how he liked it...His rods and reels were all his signature series models (the higher end ones). I did ask a lot of questions about his gear choices...He used 17lb mono for his popper, 20 lb flouro for flipping, braid obviously for frogs, braid with a short 20lb mono leader for walking baits, and braid with a 12lb flouro leader on a spinning rod for his Caffine Shad. Most of his tackle was Strike King as you'd expect, however he had a lot of other stuff too. I already wrote about the EG Shower Blows, but I also noticed some Zell Pop's in his box. A few others I recognized in the topwater box were the RI Vixen (had a bunch too), Brians Bee's prop baits, and what looked like Ima Big Sticks. He also had some Spro frogs in his frog box. His soft plastics were mostly SK as well, but he did have a lot of discontinued colors and he talked about how some the best colors simply didn't sell so they were pulled. He said SK would make him batches of those colors when he needed them...Benefits of being KVD . His Nitro was impressive as well...It's on my shopping list now . Not the fastest boat out there, but the holeshot was great even loaded down like he is. It drafts incredibly shallow too...His 21 footer seemed like it could get into skinnier water than my 20' Stratos. Everything did it's job for him...He seemed like a function-over-form and no-frills type of guy when it came to his gear in most cases. We had winds out of the S and SSW at 10-15mph both days. He simply needed it to be just a little little more out of the west...The spot is a main river-type spot and if the wind is blowing against it or in-line with it the waves get it all churned up and muddy. It's a hard cover area instead of grass so it really gets rolling like a washing machine and the fish don't like it. It's a GOOD spot and one that's not very well known....You get 5 bites there and you're looking at 15lbs at least.

With the Elite Series stopping on my home waters of the Potomac River I had to sign up as a marshal to see how these guys attacked it. I was confirmed for the first 2 days and got as lucky as you can get by drawing KVD for day 2 of the tournament (Friday). After launching we had some time before take-off so in between him doing a couple quick interviews we got to discuss his first day and his plans for day 2. KVD's first day was a nightmare...Other boats in his spots, timing off, best areas trashed by the wind, and lost fish. He told me that it was one of those days where everything that could've possibly gone wrong did go wrong. We spent the first few minutes in the morning on day 2 talking about the weather, he was hoping the wind changed direction enough so that his best area wouldn't be blown out again. After checking the weather a few different times he concluded that it was probably still going to be trashed, but there was enough of a chance to at least go check on it when the tide was right. When we finally took off as boat #60 he started up river to a spot where he saw several good fish in practice. The first thing that jumped out to me was how he drove the boat...It was like a race car driver, not becasue of the speed but the 'path' he takes. He runs right on the shoreline when he can (said it was smoother, and it was), as in you could touch it with a fishing rod, and cuts corners/points literally as close as you can. I knew that in some areas he was in less than a foot of water. It reminded me of race car driver cutting the apex of each turn...Zero wasted time and not even a foot of extra distance traveled. None of the other pros seemed to take it to this extreme, including my day 1 pro (Cliff Prince). It wasn't a far run to his first spot and there were 3 other competitors already there from an earlier flight. He told me that all 3 were there yesterday too and had the very best spot locked down. He wouldn't encroach on them, but said he was hoping to pick up fish on the periphery. Two of the three were Hackney and Vinson and they did not move more than 50 yards all day, for both day's 1 & 2. He caught his first fish quickly on a popper and made a joke about finally having something weigh in....He hung around for about an hour and besides one other blow up that missed his popper there was no action. His next stop was a short distance down river, a stretch of docks with good grass in front. He spent most of the time here using frogs. The new Poppin' Perch, a regular KVD frog, and a new SK toad with 'flat' feet (like a Ribbit). He had two good blow ups just inches behind his toad and had a good fish knock his KVD frog in the air on a blow up...All were decent size fish but they never completely got the bait. He switched colors a few times to see if that would get them to commit a little better but it ultimately didn't result in any more bites. As he was re-tying he pulled out a bunch of the new Poppin' Perch frogs to show me and explained how he worked with SK for almost a year to get it how he wanted....After a few passes up and back with the frog he went into the docks and flipped them with a Menace, but had no bites. From there we ran upriver to a popular creek with another spot where he saw several quality fish in practice. As we rounded the corner and set down he cursed when he saw Gary Klein sitting literally on his waypoint. He showed me on his GPS and sure enough, it was exactly on top of his mark. Klein was getting bit almost every cast on a walking bait and we watched him put his whole limit in the boat...KVD said that he probably got there just a few minutes before we did. He got close to Klein but stayed away from the main spot. The fish weren't as interested in his popper so he said he had to try a walker. He pulled out his walker box and I learned that besides his Sexy Dawg bait, he also really like the Evergreen Shower Blows...He asked if I'd ever used it and when I said it was one of my favorites he agreed and I think his exact words were 'yep, it's a baaaaad sum-b****..." . Even KVD likes a little JDM style . He got no love on the walker since he couldn't hit the main spot, so he started digging in his rod boxes and pulled out a spinning rod. He rigged up a 4" Caffine Shad and started skipping it quickly across the surface, trying to imitate the needlefish we get in the river this time of year. He cycled through colors every few casts before finally settling on one. This was the ticket for him as it resulted in 4 fish to fill his limit in the next hour or so. Nothing huge, but he was happy to get 5 after the disaster on day 1. The tide eventually brought too much dirty water into the area and it was about the right time to go check on his primary spot. We headed down river and as we got closer he looked over holding up his crossed fingers hoping for a little luck. Unfortunately, the wind had it trashed again. He still gave it a few minutes before giving up and we ran back up the river. We bounced around to a few more areas but he wasn't able to connect on anything else that helped him. I know a lot of that is a little vague, but if i went into all the details this post would 4 pages long! Honestly, the actual fishing part was awesome...But the real highlights to me we the conversations about tackle, strategy, locations, and everything else. I asked about a lot of his baits and colors and the level of detail he considers for everything he has is impressive. There is a reason/purpose for everything he uses and/or has his name on. For example, we talked about the Caffine Shad and he told me that he designed it specifically to be different from the Super Fluke. He said he wanted it to fall completely horizontal like a stick-bait instead of gliding around like the fluke. He also told me that they have the Jr sized Rage Bug in the works . His name on the package isn't just marketing, if it's got KVD on the package it's because he either designed or modified it to his liking. The thing that impressed me the most was how well he knew the Potomac. He knows this river better than any local I've met, which obviously includes me too. I'd like to think I know this river better than most and he was on another level. He never went to an area that I haven't been (and neither did my day 1 pro), but the level of detail about each area and the history he knew was insane. A few of the places he hit were some of my favorite areas and he had those places dissected to such detail that I never once thought "I wonder if he knows about 'XYZ' in this spot"...He knew it all. I know he has a long history on this river, but even still it's unreal to me how much detail he knew. He couldn't have been a nicer guy and was very easy to talk to. We talked quite a bit about some other waters in the area like the Upper Bay, James/Chick rivers, Gaston, and Kerr which was fun...Nothing like comparing strategies with greatest of all time . I know in his mind he was probably fuming since he was having a tough tournament, but you never would have known it from talking to him. At the end of the day I helped him bag his fish for weigh in and with a handshake I thanked him for the day wished him good luck with the rest of the season and he wished me good luck with rest of mine (which was cool, even though I'm just small time). It was the best day I've spent on the water and I never even made a cast. I also don't want to overlook my day 1 pro, Cliff Prince who was also great...But I'd be writing all day/night if I put everything that happened on both days in text....I'll just end by saying that if the Elites ever make a stop in your vicinity you should jump on the marshal opportunity...Even just hanging out before launch or at weigh in is awesome, every single pro was friendly and approachable. It's worth every penny and every second.

I'll try to write up report on my day with him once I get settled back home and relax a little...But it was awesome, KVD is unreal and couldn't be a nicer guy. His day 1 was a nightmare, he said that he had 4 good ones on and couldn't get them in the boat. It was tough today as well but he was able to at least squeeze out a small limit.

Take a guess as to who is in his passenger seat for this video .

Late to the party, but another huge congrats from me! Job well done, you guys did everything right. I'll be waiting to bump into you at events around here in the near future .

The bass live in that grass. You can make things a little easier on yourself by targeting the edges near the main channel or fishing the docks inside the marinas. Both baits you mentioned will catch bass...Probably 2 of the most productive techniques on the river, especially now. Add a senko and frog and you'll have everything covered. Since you're in a john boat, you also might consider fishing some of the smaller creeks in that area. Sometimes it's a little easier to put yourself in smaller water when figuring things out. Kanes Creek and Massy Creek are in Belmont. These creeks will both offer more 'traditional' looking targets to fish as opposed to the seemingly endless grass flats that composes most of Belmont/Occoquan Bay. Bass boats can still access these creeks so it's not a secret, but they do receive a little less pressure overall. This time of year you definitely want to be on the water early in the morning or late in the evening if you can...Bass can be caught all day, but early and late are typically very productive.

My Evinrude ETEC (2-stroke) went into the shop last week for it's scheduled 3yr/300hr maintenance...First and only time it's been in. It's efficient on both gas and oil consumption and I've been very happy with it. I'll be in the market for a new rig in about 2 years when my warranty is up and my first choice for outboards is going to be the new Evinrude G2 which has a 7 year warranty and no scheduled service for 5 years. Might not end up with one depending on the deals out there at the time, but if it comes down to a choice, that's the direction I'm looking. Mercury, Evinrude, and Yamaha all make great motors these days and with your budget you should be able to get something with all or most of it's warranty left. I've got friends with newer model Merc ProXS and Yamaha SHO motors and they have mostly been trouble free as well. Best advice I can give you is that when presented with a choice...Always go bigger over smaller (assuming you don't have storage issues) and more HP over less. I've never met anyone that regretted getting the bigger boat or more powerful motor, but I know several that regret going the other way.

Of those 3, I only own the EMTF...It's an awesome rod, but I wouldn't use it for frogs. It also seems to be a touch slower than it's Fast rating, might be the extra length that makes it feel that way. It can definitely sling baits a loooong way, but it'd be under-gunned for any of the frog fishing I do. I've often heard the PP touted as an excellent frog rod. I'm sure the TV would do the job as well, but may be a little light for the heavier stuff. The Jig & Worm rod might be a good choice as well. The PP gets a ton of praise all around, with frogging mentioned frequently. I think it'd probably be my choice in the XX lineup even though I really prefer 7' rods for frogging....J&W would be close in my mind but the PP is so popular for a reason, hard to ignore that.

I'd always heard it's made by Toray...Don't know for sure though. The diameters don't match up to Seaguar so I think it's something else, unless the rated them differently. Edit - I actually just checked BPS's site and it looks like maybe they do match up now? I swear it used to not match Seaguar's but I could be wrong. Sorry, I'm no help .

It will not be available in the US due to the ZMan patent. You will be able to get it from Japanese retailers, but as of yet I have not seen any for sale.

I use a MB Orochi EMTF (7'5") and think it's about the perfect rod for it until you get up to the heavier weights. I like the extra length and slightly more moderate action it has for this technique. 15lb flouro for line. I use 3/8 most of the time, but I'm usually throwing it in 10' or less...Any deeper and I'd want at least 1/2. I'd probably switch rods if I went heavier than 1/2 too. Long casts and a steady retrieve dragging/bumping across the bottom. Simple and effective.

These types of discussions often go down this road...I posted something like this in a similar thread a while ago... There are 2 types of gear snobs...The first type is the guy that has to have latest, greatest, and most expensive gear out there and he'll assure you he's got the advantage of people with 'lesser' quality gear. The second type is the guy that's 'old-school' and/or 'doesn't fall for marketing hype', he assures you that everyone else is wasting money on the high-end stuff and that he does just as well with his old and/or budget gear. The reality is that both are sort of right in certain ways. There IS a fair amount of marketing hype to sell the latest and greatest stuff. On the flip side, advances in rod/reel/lure/boat tech CAN make an already competent fisherman more efficient/effective/capable. At the end of the day, fishing success is mostly determined by the person holding rod...Whether it's the latest and greatest, a budget piece, or an old classic is of little importance. Me personally? I enjoy high end gear. I also enjoy being able to fish longer each tournament day since I can run 65-70mph to and from my spots . Being able to get there and back in rough weather is also a nice thing...I can run and fish in conditions that would swamp a 16 footer . --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To answer the original question... IMO, the most important feature on a spinning reel is the drag. A smooth, predictable drag that doesn't stick on start up is something that you do have to pay a little money for. Usually once you get into $150+ price range you'll get a reel that fits this description, especially with Shimano and Daiwa. I know many will tell me that their reels have this same drag quality for lower prices, but this is what I've found personally.

Steep shorelines, lots of grass, lots of pads, and lots of fish (many species). Many fish are deep but there are fair amount under the pads in shallow water too. It's small enough to where you can fish the whole lake shallow and deep so it's a good idea to try a little bit of everything (assuming you fish 8+ hours). There is one main road bed right in the middle of the lake, fairly easy to find on maps. At least 4 types of grass (plus pads) and it grows all the way out to 16-18 feet in certain places. We recently had a tournament there with good results, especially considering water temps up to 89 degrees. No huge bags, but a lot of fish overall. There were many different techniques that worked and fish were caught from the surface down to 25 feet. I caught my fish on frogs in the pads and also finesse stuff in mid-depth grass and had a good finish. I can't give away the other guy's stuff since it isn't mine to give...But everyone's patterns are gone over in detail at our weigh ins, you should look us up...Always open and local .

As a general rule, the fish follow the tide...In with the incoming, out with the outgoing. It's not an absolute rule, but it's good to keep in mind when you are new to tidal water bass fishing. Find an edge, a depression, some hard cover, or anything else that breaks up the uniformity of a huge grass bed and you'll be around bass. Tide and timing are more important during the heat of the summer than most other times...But if you're new to the tides don't overwhelm yourself. Early morning and late evening should be decent fishing no matter the tide so make sure you're on the water early and/or late. This will help you find productive areas and techniques to gain some confidence. Those mid-day windows of activity this time of year are purely tide-driven and location dependent and it will take experience to predict them...And even when you think you know, it'll come back and humble you real quick sometimes .

The loooooong awaited Dobyns Champion 736CB Glass chatterbait rod arrived yesterday. It's very impressive in hand, but actual testing will have to wait for my boat to get out of the shop from scheduled maintenance... I've been happy with the 7'2" MH Zillion Glass I currently use, but it doesn't compare to the initial impression I got from this 736. This is my first Dobyns rod, but I had heard of the reputation they have for great balance. This rod doesn't disappoint in that regard, with the Core 100 its only very slightly tip heavy. Which is impressive considering it's a 7'3" Heavy/Glass....It's much better than my Zillion Glass with the same reel.

+1 for the original Tatula. Great rods and at the price you can usually find them for they blow everything else out of the water. I'm sort of a gear junkie and most of my stuff is high end...But I do have a Tatula 7' M/R and won't be getting rid of it...Looks a little out of place next to Megabass and Legend series rods on my boat, but it's earned a spot there . A Daiwa regular action is about the same as a Moderate-Fast. Good for reaction stuff. I use my 7' M/R for shallow cranking. Daiwa's are also similar to St Croix in that they run a little more powerful than most other companies, not quite as much as St Croix, but still noticeable.

Ran into Zona at the Elite event on the Delaware River, just as funny in person as on TV...Only got a quick picture with him and a few of the guys in my club when we were there for the weigh in, but it was cool he took time out to chat with everyone that came up to him. I'm looking forward to his show on the Upper Bay with Ike airing...Will be cool to see them on my some of my home waters. Now come do one on the Potomac! .

I'm also hoping for a mini sized Structure Bug! Already have some of the magnum size in the boat. The plastic on the magnum size seems to be a little tougher than than standard, more like the Rage Craw...

For an 'off the shelf' option, I'd go with Black/Blue. For custom, I've caught more bass on this color than any other combined over the past 10 years or so. Clear, dirty, shallow, deep, casting, flipping, swimming.... This is a Siebert Dock Rocker with my own skirt, it's not like this is a crazy custom color but for some reason very few people make a plain Black/Green.

9 get in from BASS Open wins (the angler has to fish all 3 events in the series to claim the spot though) 6 get in from the Federation 1 from the College Championship 1 from the Team Championship 1 from last year's Classic champion 1 from BassFest Champion 1 from the Classic Bracket The other 30ish spots are filled from the Elite Series AOY standings. If any anglers are double qualified the AOY qualification gets bumped down a spot. Same thing happens if any of the Open winners don't go becasue they didn't fish the whole series. Might not be exactly right, but it's at least close.

Never had that issue. You've probably tried this...But I'd try some light tapping/shaking to dislodge it. You could also try leaving it in the sun for a while to heat up, may make dislodging it a little easier with the warmer plastic. I've heard MB-USA is pretty good at dealing with issues, might try shooting them an email if you can't get it fixed to see what they can do for you. One other thought...Has it always been that way? The Silent Riser and NC models have the tungsten balls fixed at either end of the bait.

Come back in May/June and you'll really love it . There's 60+ more miles of river and a dozen+ tributaries to explore!

It's not specifically the day 1 weight...Its the heaviest weight from any single day of competition. Both KVD's and Krieger's heaviest weights were today's 11-0...So it went to the next heaviest, which was KVD's day 1. It was actually the second tiebreaker since they were still tied after the first. 3rd tiebreaker was heaviest single fish. On another note... Final day is now no-limit, MLF style...Which hurts Hite IMO since he has been on the best quality fish of anyone, but hasn't been getting a ton of bites. I've enjoyed it so far despite the wierdness, but don't like last minute rule changes . I actually really liked the idea of immediate release while still having a 5 fish limit. KVD vs Hite was the final matchup I was hoping for, pulling for Hite slightly.

It definitely effects the tides, so on tidal fisheries it can make a difference. New/full moons will have stronger tides and quarter moons have weaker tides...and it effects the high and low. So a new/full moon will have a slightly higher-high and lower-low (bigger swings). Quarter moons will be the opposite, lower-highs and higher-lows (smaller swings). It's not a huge difference but if you have something like strong winds up or down river on a day near a full/new moon you can have some pretty extreme highs or lows. I also believe full moons effect 'waves' of spawning fish. You'll usually get bigger waves of fish moving up when a full moon coincides with the other optimal conditions for them to start heading to the banks. I don't know if it effects the actual time they spawn, but it seems to at least effect when they head to the banks. I'm not fanatical about moon phases, but I pay attention when it's applicable to what I'm doing.